Bicol Express

My family and I grew up loving spicy foods. I guess we took it from mom, coming from a half-Chinese, half-Bicolana (Spanish) that she is, she loves everything spicy! One of my most favorite spicy foods that she used to prepare for us is what I’m about to share with you today.

“Bicol Express is a popular Filipino dish popularized in the district of Malate and Manila but made in traditional Bicolano style. A stew made from long chilies, coconut milk, shrimp paste, onion, pork and garlic. Named after a region in the Philippines known for its spicy cuisines.”

I can only remember portions of what she taught me on how to cook this particular viand, I kind of tweaked it a little because I had accidentally made it extremely hot, haha.Yaya forgot to mention that the bagoong I have at home is already spicy on its own and I still ended up adding green chillies and red chilli peppers! ? Top that, since I’d like to make sure that the pork has been cooked well, I decided to fry it first. But take note! Despite the extreme hotness of what I had prepared, the fambam ended up eating a lot albeit the amount of perspiration they had while eating. So don’t worry in case you’d like to try this recipe out. You just have to make sure that your bagoong is not yet spicy — you’ll have to adjust on the chilli, or like me, you’ll end up adding a little bit of sugar too.

Do let me know how it turned out on yours through the comments though, I’d sure love to know. ?

* To ensure that the pork is completely cooked, I pan fried it first until golden brown then set aside.

1. Heat a wok over medium-heat. Add a couple of swirls of oil. When oil is hot, you may add the onions, garlic and ginger. Sautè until the onions are soft, translucent and fragrant.

2. Add the bagoong and chilies. Sautè for about 2 to 3 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

3. Add pork to the pan and continue frying about 1 to 2 minutes.

4. Add coconut milk and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until pork is tender and the sauce is thick. Adjust seasoning, if desired, you may add a little more bagoong, or some more red chili peppers (incase you want it really spicy!).